Monday, July 29, 2013

Police: Former Contra Costa Times reporter dies while snorkeling in Hawaii

By PETE BENNETT - Contra Costa Watch EMAILPhone: 510-460-5641Posted: 07/30/2013Reposted to Protect My Sons------------Some may think, wow another accident but what you're not reading in the Contra Costa Times is what they should be writing about. Few knew Ian Lota Scott who was the Karaoke DJ at Dallimonti's for many years until his passing on September 13th 2011, few know that I was supposed to meet Candidate for Office Eric Nunn who crashed a few days after we spoke, few know that I can link Tanabe to several BART officers who are also deceased just like my former Attorney's brother in-law son of a local Super lawyer who just happened know my ex-wife for thirty. They kept a good secret for nearly five years until Nate turned up dead on WB 24 last year. My offices were once in the same center as Dallimonti's but over the summer of 2010 Ian's mom Izetta was helping me sort through all the strange events around me, she once worked for the Solano County District Attorney's office. Ian is another death just a handshake away from yet another current or former state worker. It doesn't make sense that so many so close to government are dying in accidents, drownings or plane crashes. That legal "stuff" surfaced six months later as the CNET Scandal but persons near Dallimonti's including current and former officers have ties to the many incidents near me and others. This blog is a better defense than retaining an attorney as most Contra Costa Bar Association members are well aware that my attorney Sage Sepahi was beaten in Walnut Creek and now they know that Donald Moats offices were torched in 2001 forcing me into an adverse settlement but please feel free to read my other article on how cases are settled here in Contra Costa County.

Ian Scott R.I.P I plan to write more about this former Contra Costa Times CSR and I am sure that Mr. Taugher knew Ian who I am sure knew Margaret Lesher. I hope you can count 1, 2, 3 or ....

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Police: Former Contra Costa Times reporter dies while snorkeling in Hawaii

By David DeBolt ddebolt@bayareanewsgroup.com

POSTED: 07/29/2013 09:07:13 AM PDT |UPDATED: ABOUT 6 HOURS AGO

BENICIA -- A former Contra Costa Times newspaper reporter who became a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife died while snorkeling on vacation in Hawaii, according to the state agency and police.

Michael Taugher, 50, of Benicia was found unresponsive in the water off Black Rock in Kaanapali Saturday morning. He had been snorkeling with family members when he went missing. Lifeguard, firefighters and paramedics tried to revive Taugher but were unsuccessful. A police spokesman in Hawaii said no foul play is suspected.

A longtime environmental and investigative reporter, Taugher was known for his blend of meticulous research and dogged reporting in covering the biggest issues of the day,

Former Contra Costa Times reporter Michael Taugher.

said his former editor and Bay Area News Group East Bay Metro Editor Kat Rowlands.

In his 12 years at the Times, Taugher was the newspaper's go-to reporter on environmental issues, covering everything from state water politics, to endangered species, to forestry and the state's energy crisis. His reporting earned him numerous awards and praise from inside and outside the Walnut Creek newsroom.

"Mike was unquestionably fair, knowledgeable, and deeply insightful about the issues he covered," U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Contra Costa, said in a statement. "He helped to broaden people's understanding of the environmental issues we face in California and I hope that his family will take some solace in knowing that many of us will remember Mike as a solid professional and very decent person."

In May 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Taugher as the assistant deputy director of communications, education and outreach at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Before working for the Contra Costa Times from 2000 to 2012, he was an environmental reporter for the Albuquerque Journal from 1995 to 2000, a Greeley Tribune reporter from 1992 to 1995 and a reporter for the Tahoe Daily Tribune and North Lake Tahoe Bonanza from 1989 to 1992.

"He was also a genuinely decent, nice guy," said Paul Rogers, environment writer for the San Jose Mercury News who worked with Taugher. "He'd be patiently explaining some complex California water issue to me and then just suddenly blurt out 'hey, did I tell you my son, Zac hit a home run in Little League this weekend?'"